Evaluation of economic loss caused by Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) in agricultural land of district Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

The Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) is a vertebrate pest of agricultural lands and forest. The study was aimed to report the damage to local crops by the Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) in the Muzaffarabad District. A survey was conducted to identify the porcupine-affected areas and assess the crop damage to the local farmers in district Muzaffarabad Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) from May 2017 to October 2017. Around 19 villages were surveyed, and a sum of 191 semi-structured questionnaires was distributed among farmers. Crop damage was found highest in village Dhanni where a porcupine destroyed 175 Kg/Kanal of the crops. Regarding the total magnitude of crop loss, village Danna and Koomi kot were the most affected areas. More than half (51.8%) of the respondents in the study area suffered the economic loss within the range of 101-200$, and (29.8$ annually. Among all crops, maize (Zea mays) was found to be the most damaged crop ranging between 1-300 Kg annually. In the study area, porcupine also inflicted a lot of damages to some important vegetables, including spinach (Spinacia oleracea), potato (Solanum tuberosum) and onion (Allium cepa). It was estimated that, on average, 511Kg of vegetables are destroyed by porcupine every year in the agricultural land of Muzaffarabad. It was concluded that the Indian crested porcupine has a devastating effect on agriculture which is an important source of income and food for the local community. Developing an effective pest control strategy with the help of the local government and the Wildlife department could help the farmers to overcome this problem

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Study of identified particle ratios using cosmic rays Monte-Carlo models in pp collisions at s=0.9 and 7 TeV

Cosmic rays with high energies can be studied only by measuring the extensive air showers of particles produced in the upper atmosphere. A complete simulation is required to know the primary particle properties, which is possible by studying the modeling of hadronic particle production at the generator level. In this connection, we report the yield ratios π−/π+, K−/K+, p̄/p (same particles ratio), p/π, p/K, and K/π (different particles ratio) with pseudorapidity (η) in pp collisions at s = 0.9 and 7 TeV using models being used for extensive air shower simulation. The ratios were measured at the following transverse momentum (pT) regions; low pT; 0 1.2 GeV/c and at different pseudorapidity (η) range of 3.0 < η < 4.5 and 2.5 < η < 4.5. These results are then compared with the data from the LHCb experiment. The ratio of π−/π+ from various model predictions agrees with the measurements at both energies at almost all pT and η regions. There is a reasonable agreement in K−/K+ and p̄/p ratios of model and experimental data at s = 900 GeV except few pT and η regions, in which the models do not describe the experimental data adequately. However, almost all the models fully describe the K−/K+ and p̄/p ratios at s = 7 TeV except few pT and η regions. Moreover, none of the models completely reproduce the different particle ratios at s = 900 GeV, with Pythia and EPOS producing better results. On the other hand, in most cases, the models’ predictions for the different particle ratios are consistent with experimental data s = 7 TeV. These kinds of studies will certainly help tune the Monte-Carlo generators being used for the studies of the hadron productions at various energies

High Intensity Kaon Experiments (HIKE) at the CERN SPS Proposal for Phases 1 and 2

International audienceA timely and long-term programme of kaon decay measurements at an unprecedented level of precision is presented, leveraging the capabilities of the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS). The proposed HIKE programme is firmly anchored on the experience built up studying kaon decays at the SPS over the past four decades, and includes rare processes, CP violation, dark sectors, symmetry tests and other tests of the Standard Model. The programme is based on a staged approach involving experiments with charged and neutral kaon beams, as well as operation in beam-dump mode. The various phases will rely on a common infrastructure and set of detectors

High Intensity Kaon Experiments (HIKE) at the CERN SPS Proposal for Phases 1 and 2

International audienceA timely and long-term programme of kaon decay measurements at an unprecedented level of precision is presented, leveraging the capabilities of the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS). The proposed HIKE programme is firmly anchored on the experience built up studying kaon decays at the SPS over the past four decades, and includes rare processes, CP violation, dark sectors, symmetry tests and other tests of the Standard Model. The programme is based on a staged approach involving experiments with charged and neutral kaon beams, as well as operation in beam-dump mode. The various phases will rely on a common infrastructure and set of detectors